by M.R. Preediyathorn Thewakul, former Deputy Prime Minister in 2006
rewritten by Patcharapol Jitramontree
patcharapol@tannetwork.tv
Posted on Thai-ASEAN News Network
Thereafter, Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya announced that Thailand may tear up the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Thailand and Cambodia on the overlapping maritime territory between Thailand and Cambodia, as it was signed by the former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra in 2001, who may reveal relevant information to put Thailand at a disadvantage in future negotiations. After all, the overlapping maritime territory is known to be the home of a lot of oil and natural gas.
In addition, Deputy Secretary General to the Prime Minister Dr. Panitan Wattanayakorn echoed Foreign Minister Kasit that the move was necessary to protect the country's interests. Dr. Panitan's support of the decision put even more weight behind the move, eliminating many doubts Thais may have had about the decision.
Out of patriotism, I (M.R. Preediyathorn) initially supported the Government's decision.
However, many veteran academics came out afterwards and publicly warned the Government about such move, prompting me (M.R. Preediyathorn) to acquire a copy of the MoU to see for myself. I (M.R. Preediyathorn) have to say that I was immediately enlightened and shocked.
The fact is that the MoU was written in no way that would allow the former Prime Minister and fugitive Thaksin Shinawatra to reveal any information to the Cambodian Government to put Thailand at a disadvantage. The MoU stipulates that the current Thai Government has the full authority in negotiating with the Cambodian government in terms of the consensus on who gets what, who is responsible for what, how a particular operation should be carried out, as well as how the benefits will be shared, are all entirely up to the two current Governments of Thailand and Cambodia.
As such, Thaksin is, at least with regard to this MoU, in no way a threat to the interests of Thailand as the economic adviser for Prime Minister Hun Sen. The current Government has every right to decide and keep negotiation information a mystery to Thaksin.
Furthermore, the MoU mandates that a joint committee made up of Thai and Cambodian representatives be set up to facilitate an appropriate negotiation. To my (M.R. Preediyathorn) knowledge, the aforementioned joint committee has yet to be set up. In fact, the Government hasn't even set any policies to hint at forming such a joint committee.
All Thailand has to do to keep Cambodia's hand out of the cookie jar is to close the lid by abstaining from setting up the joint committee. Without the committee, Thaksin is entirely irrelevant.
In the end, I (M.R. Preediyathorn) don't see the necessity to drop the MoU at all. While conflicts last for days, weeks or months, we should keep in mind that bordering countries must continue to co-exist for hundreds and thousands of years to come. And as many like to say that there is sunshine after rain, in this particular matter of the overlapping maritime territory, the sun may never shine again for either countries if the MoU is scrapped in the end.
One particular aspect of this whole ordeal that truly upsets me (M.R. Preediyathorn) is the fact that Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya said that there is a potential that the former prime minister and fugitive Thaksin Shinawatra could put Thailand at a disadvantage having been appointed the economic adviser to Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen.
The result is that those who are in the know about such truth of the MoU, both in Cambodia and in other countries, certainly have lost some level of respect for the Thai Government.
In my opinion, it isn't too late for the Thai Government to fix this problem. The decision to scrap the MoU will have to pass through the House and the Senate, which is set to be a rough ride. Don't expect the MPs and Senators to be so easy on the decision, as these guys, to some level, still have Thailand's interests at heart.
In addition, Deputy Secretary General to the Prime Minister Dr. Panitan Wattanayakorn echoed Foreign Minister Kasit that the move was necessary to protect the country's interests. Dr. Panitan's support of the decision put even more weight behind the move, eliminating many doubts Thais may have had about the decision.
Out of patriotism, I (M.R. Preediyathorn) initially supported the Government's decision.
However, many veteran academics came out afterwards and publicly warned the Government about such move, prompting me (M.R. Preediyathorn) to acquire a copy of the MoU to see for myself. I (M.R. Preediyathorn) have to say that I was immediately enlightened and shocked.
The fact is that the MoU was written in no way that would allow the former Prime Minister and fugitive Thaksin Shinawatra to reveal any information to the Cambodian Government to put Thailand at a disadvantage. The MoU stipulates that the current Thai Government has the full authority in negotiating with the Cambodian government in terms of the consensus on who gets what, who is responsible for what, how a particular operation should be carried out, as well as how the benefits will be shared, are all entirely up to the two current Governments of Thailand and Cambodia.
As such, Thaksin is, at least with regard to this MoU, in no way a threat to the interests of Thailand as the economic adviser for Prime Minister Hun Sen. The current Government has every right to decide and keep negotiation information a mystery to Thaksin.
Furthermore, the MoU mandates that a joint committee made up of Thai and Cambodian representatives be set up to facilitate an appropriate negotiation. To my (M.R. Preediyathorn) knowledge, the aforementioned joint committee has yet to be set up. In fact, the Government hasn't even set any policies to hint at forming such a joint committee.
All Thailand has to do to keep Cambodia's hand out of the cookie jar is to close the lid by abstaining from setting up the joint committee. Without the committee, Thaksin is entirely irrelevant.
In the end, I (M.R. Preediyathorn) don't see the necessity to drop the MoU at all. While conflicts last for days, weeks or months, we should keep in mind that bordering countries must continue to co-exist for hundreds and thousands of years to come. And as many like to say that there is sunshine after rain, in this particular matter of the overlapping maritime territory, the sun may never shine again for either countries if the MoU is scrapped in the end.
One particular aspect of this whole ordeal that truly upsets me (M.R. Preediyathorn) is the fact that Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya said that there is a potential that the former prime minister and fugitive Thaksin Shinawatra could put Thailand at a disadvantage having been appointed the economic adviser to Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen.
The result is that those who are in the know about such truth of the MoU, both in Cambodia and in other countries, certainly have lost some level of respect for the Thai Government.
In my opinion, it isn't too late for the Thai Government to fix this problem. The decision to scrap the MoU will have to pass through the House and the Senate, which is set to be a rough ride. Don't expect the MPs and Senators to be so easy on the decision, as these guys, to some level, still have Thailand's interests at heart.
2 comments:
Cambodia must seize the initiative to scrap the Mou regardless what the tais do or don't do.
We must take the lead to attack instead of just adopting the defensive posture all the time.
It will be the Thai flip flop as usual. What else creditability do they have?
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